Growing up, I always was creative; our fridge was overflowing with drawings I had made, which my mother lovingly stored in a box after I ousted them with new drawings. So, it was easy to see that I would do well studying art when the time came to choose a major. I did do well, in fact, and acquired my associate's degree in fine arts. Then I realized how expensive it was to go to a non-community college to finish my bachelor's in fine arts. So I gave up. It never sat well with me, and I was always itching to go back to school. Meanwhile, growing arthritis pains slowed my art journey to a near halt and I started writing. Over the next five years, an inkling in the back of my head started growing into an idea: what if I studied something other than art? Something like creative writing. I have always been making up stories as well, but I only sometimes wrote them down. After I lost my ability to draw as much, I started writing more earnestly and tying story threads together in complicated webs, a process I love. This idea to go back to school suddenly came to fruition when I started searching up online degree programs and stumbled upon Southern New Hampshire University's creative writing program. The price was almost as good as a community college, yet the ratings for the school were high. So I applied on the spot, almost as an impulse, yet I was thrilled about it. I started telling my family and friends that I was going back to school. The inkling had progressed to an idea that was becoming reality. I have always done well in school environments, so I have very little concern about doing well in the program. I thrive in a collaborative environment where critique and other feedback are the norms. I've experienced this both in art classes and the two creative writing classes I took in community college, and am thrilled at the prospect of going back to a space like that, even if it's virtual. I long to acquire the skills to properly express all the ideas in my head, such as Lexx's horror story of a mystical mansion where people's true nature is revealed, or Sierra's story of a girl who got a little more than she bargained for when a mysterious stranger turns her clockwork life upside-down. I could expound upon Nox's Robin Hood-esque tale of a thief who works for the good of the common people. I am so excited to go back to school. The skills and connections I can make through continuing my education are invaluable. My journey and my switch in majors may be non-traditional, but I believe it's been a journey worth taking.

Originally, when coming out of high school, I was one hundred percent sure I was going to be a fashion designer. However, I quickly realized I was not happy with the reality of the industry and the way you're either lucky enough to be the trendsetter or forced to follow the trends. So, I switched to Studio Art, which made me very happy until I realized that school is expensive, and once I got my Associate's at the local community college, I had no affordable advancement opportunities. I remained out of school for 6 years after that but kept dreaming of going back to finish my Bachelor's degree. I finally found my path with storytelling. I long to move forward and tell my stories, such as Lexx's horror story of a mystical mansion where people's true nature is revealed, or Sierra's story of a girl who got a little more than she bargained for when a mysterious stranger turned her clockwork life upside-down. I could expound upon Nox's Robin Hood-esque tale of a thief who works for the good of the common people. I want to publish these works and reach people with them to change their lives for the better. I have always loved reading. I can enter new worlds and see things from other perspectives than my own. For me, stories come to life. That is why I want to enter the field and join the ranks of some of my favorite authors, including famous authors like Diana Wynne Jones and Orson Scott Card, as well as less famous ones like Dia Calhoun and Marissa Meyer. In particular, I was always drawn to this one book of Dia Calhoun's called Phoenix Dance. It describes an aspiring shoemaker suffering from the Illness of the Two Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Brilliance, and the Kingdom of Darkness. This is a renaming of what we in our world call bipolar disorder. The shoemaker, Phoenix, is unsure whether to allow the healers to treat her for this illness because while she dreads the Darkness, she doesn't want to lock off the Brilliance. In the end, despite romance, she becomes the hero of her own story and learns that it is ok to accept help and treatment, that she can still be creative but no longer suffer from those periods of darkness. I did not know it at the time, but I was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which explains why I was so drawn to the book. I learned with Phoenix that we can accept treatment, and help from others, but still be the hero of our own story. We can still create, even if not in a manic way. I take my mental health seriously now and will continue to take care of myself as I chase these goals to become a published author.

I have always been passionate about being a good student and gaining the most out of my education, ever since my mother homeschooled me as a child and instilled in me a true love of learning that endures to this day. I get genuine satisfaction from working hard and getting a good grade out of it, but more importantly, I am satisfied when I feel I have learned what my teacher had to teach me. Ultimately, I want to take the things I've been taught and apply them to change others' hearts and minds through my works, both in the arts and in writing. I studied art very earnestly when I first attended college, but when I got my associate's degree, I felt empty afterward and longed to go back for more education. I'm now taking that step to go and get a creative writing degree, something I've dreamed of doing for the past five years. I truly love both telling stories and devouring them as a reader. I am so excited to go back and learn to express the stories that have always been in my head. I can tell Lexx's horror story of a mystical mansion where people's true nature is revealed, or Sierra's story of a girl who got a little more than she bargained for when a mysterious stranger turns her clockwork life upside-down. I could expound upon Nox's Robin Hood-esque tale of a thief who works for the good of the common people. I'm thrilled to soon be able to read my peers' work and critique it positively and constructively, guiding them in expressing their stories effectively, as I hope they will in turn guide me. When they do so, I'm eager to apply their thoughts to my work to better myself as a writer and my story as a vehicle of inspiration to others. Overall, I want to touch peoples' lives through my education, both in receiving it and after I've acquired it. I thrive on the environment of schooling and desire to help others do so as well. I believe stories can touch people's hearts in a way that simply talking to them does not. Furthermore, a story published in a collection, a journal, or even a mere blog post can reach many more people than I can in my ordinary life. I want to inspire others to be both better students and better people.